Four ways to create jobs and make life better for Alabama workers: guest opinion

Many Alabama workers had little to celebrate this past Labor Day. The Great Recession is over, but in Alabama, unemployment remains high, jobs have disappeared, wages are stagnant, and the wealth gap between the rich and everyone else has grown. We may hear talk of a strong economy, but the findings in a new Arise Citizens' Policy Project report tell a different story.

Alabama is the only state with an unemployment rate higher now than it was a year ago. Our July unemployment rate of 7 percent was 3 points higher than when the recession began and was tied with Arizona's for the nation's ninth highest. Sixteen of our rural counties face unemployment rates above 10 percent.

In 2007, Alabama had more than 2 million jobs. Since then, we've lost 5 percent, or 105,000, of our non-farm jobs, a job loss rate 16 times higher than the national rate. Nearly one-third of the state's construction jobs have vanished, and all but three industries have seen a decline in jobs.

The state needs 225,700 additional jobs to put everyone who wants to work back to work and to keep up with population growth since 2007. Unfortunately, Alabama's job growth is well below what is needed to support a full recovery.

Alabama's average wages, adjusted for inflation, have increased by just 4 percent since 2003. This wage stagnation has accompanied a dramatic increase in income inequality. Between 2009 and 2011, the income of the richest 1 percent in Alabama increased by 4.3 percent, while the average incomes of everyone else fell by 2.9 percent.

The dire situation for Alabama workers calls for action. Lawmakers can enact several policies to create jobs and support unemployed people. One of the most effective employment supports is the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). More than 500,000 Alabama families received the EITC in 2011, lifting a third of them out of poverty and pumping $1.4 billion into the state's economy. Alabama should follow the lead of the 25 other states that have created state-level EITCs to make work more rewarding.

Alabama should reform its upside-down tax structure by removing the state sales tax on groceries and ending the state income tax deduction for federal income taxes (FIT). Ending the grocery tax would boost consumer spending by increasing families' disposable income. Ending the FIT deduction would help reduce income inequality and provide more revenue to put teachers back in the classroom.

Both state and federal lawmakers should invest in critical infrastructure that creates jobs and supports the economy. Congress should reauthorize and stabilize the Highway Trust Fund. Alabama lawmakers should address the state's public transportation needs to make it easier for many low-income people to get to and from work.

Finally, Alabama should expand Medicaid to provide health coverage for more than 340,000 uninsured low-income people, including nearly 185,000 adults working in construction, food service, child care and other fields. Expansion would provide a critical safety net for these Alabamians while creating thousands of new jobs and pumping billions of dollars into the state's economy.

Labor Day is a day for barbecue, picnics and family fun. But for many Alabama families, flat wages, unemployment and lost jobs made celebration difficult this year. We hope our leaders will face the facts about Alabama's economy and renew their commitment to our state's workers and all of its people.

Carol Gundlach is a policy analyst for Arise Citizens' Policy Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of 150 congregations and organizations that promote public policies to improve the lives of low-income Alabamians. Email: carol@alarise.org.

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